ISU Men Host Drake in Regular-Season Rematch

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State is aiming to sweep the regular-season series versus Drake for the third-straight year when the Redbird men's basketball team hosts the Bulldogs Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Tuesday night's ninth Missouri Valley Conference game of 18 signifies the MVC halfway point.

ILLINOIS STATE VS. DRAKE • TUESDAY, JAN. 26, 2016 • 7 P.M. CT

• THE SERIES:
  Tuesday's game marks the 84th meeting between Illinois State and Drake. ISU leads the all-time series, 54-29, with the Redbirds winning six-straight and seven of the last eight, ISU's longest active winning streak against an MVC foe. Versus the Bulldogs, ISU is 31-8 at home and 21-7 at Redbird Arena. ISU beat Drake in Des Moines, Iowa, 67-62, earlier this season. Head coach Dan Muller holds a 6-1 record against the Bulldogs.

• THE COACHES:
  Illinois State: Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Illinois State (68-54). Muller is the first coach in ISU history to beat three Top-25 teams in his first three seasons.
  Drake: Ray Giacoletti (Minot State, 1985) is in his third season as the head coach at Drake (29-53) and his 13th overall (200-176). Giacoletti served as an assistant coach for four years at Illinois State (1990-93).

• ABOUT ILLINOIS STATE:
  Picked to finish fourth (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... return three of five starters and six of 13 letterwinners from last year's team, which went 22-13 overall, advancing to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) ... tied for third place in the 2014-15 MVC standings (11-7) ... feature MVC preseason team selection DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell ... started the MVC season 3-0 for the first time since 2008-09.

• ABOUT DRAKE:
  Picked to finish seventh (out of 10 teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference ... return four of seven starters and six of 10 letterwinners from last year's team, which recorded a 9-22 overall record and a 6-12 MVC mark (seventh place) ... feature returning sophomore guard Reed Timmer who was named to the 2015 MVC All-Newcomer and All-Freshman teams and is averaging 17.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

PREVIOUS GAME (W, 76-67 - JAN. 23, 2016 VS. NORTHERN IOWA)
The Illinois State men's basketball team held Northern Iowa to 29 second-half points as the Redbirds overcame an eight-point first-half deficit in a 76-67 victory on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena in front of 7,103 fans during the team's annual Retro Game. MiKyle McIntosh led the Redbirds in scoring with 18 points. Justin McCloud tied a career high by making five 3-pointers (5-for-6) for a total of 15 points. Paris Lee was the third Redbird in double-digit scoring with 16 points while also dishing out six assists.

FIRST MEETING (W, 67-62 - JAN. 3, 2016 AT DRAKE)
Illinois State overcame a 10-point halftime deficit and DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell poured in a career-best 28 points with a season-high nine rebounds as the ISU men's basketball team improved to 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference at the time with a 67-62 win over Drake at the Knapp Center. After trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, Illinois State overcame a 10-point halftime deficit by outscoring Drake, 19-8, to start the second half en route to a 41-40 Redbird advantage at the 10:48 mark. ISU permanently took the lead on a Tony Wills 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining following six ties and eight lead changes.

DEFENSIVE DISCIPLINE
In six of Illinois State eight Missouri Valley Conference games this season, the Redbirds have limited opponents below their season scoring average at the time. ISU is 5-1 when accomplishing this feat. Illinois State most recently held Northern Iowa (previously averaging 70.2 points per game) to 67 points. Earlier in the season, ISU held Evansville (previously averaging a league-best 79.4 points per game) to 66 points, despite ISU losing, 66-55 (Jan. 15). The Redbirds limited UE to its third-lowest point-total of the year.

CRASHING THE GLASS
After being outrebounded in eight of their first 10 games (going 4-6 with a -4.2 rebounding margin), the Redbirds have outrebounded the opposition in nine of their last 11 contests (going 7-4 with a +3.0 rebounding margin). ISU is 9-2 when outrebounding its opponent and 2-8 when outrebounded.

McCLOUD'S MAKES
Senior guard Justin McCloud was instrumental in Illinois State's win over Northern Iowa (Jan. 23), netting a season-high 15 points while matching a career high with five 3-pointers on 5-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc. After ISU fell behind by eight points at the 13:29 mark in the first half, McCloud proceeded to score three-straight 3-pointers within 75 seconds to give the Redbirds a one-point advantage.

PARIS' POINTS
Point guard Paris Lee has nearly doubled his offensive production as a junior, ranking second on the team with 10.7 points averaged per game this season. Last year, as a sophomore, Lee ranked sixth on the team with 6.8 points per game, and as a freshman, he also ranked sixth on the team with 6.7 points per contest. Lee has achieved double-digit scoring in five-straight games, including in six out of the last seven.

HAWKINS' HEIGHTS
Sophomore forward Deontae Hawkins has crashed the boards this season, averaging a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game, which ranks 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference. Hawkins matched a career high with 15 rebounds in Illinois State's win at Bradley (Jan. 20). He also collected 15 boards last year versus Youngstown State (Nov. 29, 2014). Hawkins has tallied 10 or more rebounds twice this season.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DeVAUGHN
Senior guard DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell reached double figures in ISU's first 20 games of the season before being held to seven points versus Northern Iowa (Jan. 23). Dating back to last season, Akoon-Purcell has scored in double figures in 27 of the last 29 games. He has recorded 20 or more points four times in 2015-16 and is averaging 15.0 points (eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference) and 4.9 rebounds per contest (15th in the MVC). Akoon-Purcell has led ISU in scoring 11 times this season.

BATTLING BACK
In seven of Illinois State's 11 victories this season, the Redbirds have overcome deficits of eight points or more. In ISU's first three Missouri Valley Conference wins, Illinois State overcame deficits of 12 or more points (down 13 vs. Missouri State, Dec. 30; down 12 at Drake, Jan. 3; down 13 vs. Loyola, Jan. 6). ISU most recently overcame an eight-point deficit to beat Northern Iowa (Jan. 23).

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